I think a couple things to keep in mind are that usually the press cars have broken in engines and they really beat the shit out of them to get those numbers, more than I would in my own car. Also, their times are corrected for altitude and temperature, so that could be a factor. For more realistic times from places like Car and Driver, look at their rolling start 5-60 mph.
It affects gas mileage, too, right? Granted I've been getting on my car a lot, but through the first 800 miles or so that I've driven so far, I've seen somewhat worse mileage than I was expecting.
In my own experience, my first tank was about as good as any recent tank, so unless the bump comes after 4,000 miles I don't think mileage changes much in the V8. We'll have to see how that goes.
Wow, you are serious! I can't say I am trying that hard. I do benefit from mostly open road driving. But I have been disappointed by the 1.5 mpg discrepancy between the computer and hand calculations. It's very consistent, and that's the worst I have ever had for an on-board computer.
It may get closer with time. On my first 6-7 tanks, the computer was .5 to .9 mpg off. Now that I have 3k miles, the computer has only been off by .2 mpg on my last three fill ups.
If you're steady cruising at 30 mph -- or, 25 mph here in NYC since they changed the speed limit last month, I guess -- then there's very little point in doing anything other than staying in high gear at just above idle. There's no need to ever "get on the gas" if you're going at a steady 30 mph on flat ground. You're maintaining a constant speed at the speed limit until you get to the next red light (when, presumably, you'll downshift).
